I really think Richard should do these chats wearing a purple robe and crown.

I'm a huge Ultima fan, but I'm not crazy about UO (of which I was an early beta tester) or any MMORPG. I like to be the central character of the story, the one who saves the world, not a dirt farmer or blacksmith. However, the premise of SotA sounds interesting… basically, all player characters are from a distant land (Earth) and travel to New Britannia (sound familiar?) through a lunar rift (moongate).

Our avatars are immortal; That is, we can and will die but won’t stay dead, which can strike fear into the locals. The fact that there are many “avatars” from another world will be an integral part of the story, but there can be only one true Avatar (or very few). I’m reminded of the Highlander movies.

Overall, I’m pleased with the direction of this game, and how Ultima-like it will be. I only hope that $2M is enough for what they have in mind… Traditional MMOs are extremely expensive to create; WoW cost $63M while SWTOR cost a whopping $200M .

Originally Posted by Dr. A
The ironic thing is… Divinity: Original Sin, with all of its stretch goals achieved, seems to be more Ultima-like than the Richard Garriot helmed Shroud of the Avatar

Sad, but true… Every Ultima fan should pledge for Divinity: Original Sin.
The Kickstarter is over, but you can still pledge via Paypal until May 10th.
It's only $28 for the digital version; much less than it'll be upon release.

Its amazing how many people have been duped into thinking thins will be like an ultima single player game. This is gonna be much closer to ultima online. I have to admit it should be interesting to see reactions when it gets released…ha

Originally Posted by Vindicator
Sad, but true… Every Ultima fan should pledge for Divinity: Original Sin.
The Kickstarter is over, but you can still pledge via Paypal until May 10th.
It's only $28 for the digital version; much less than it'll be upon release.

It is easy to say t hat Divinity seems to be more like an ultima game, since it is almost completed. at this point shroud is still in early development and nowhere near to the amount of finished content Divinity has.

I think waiting until more is complete is a bit fairer in this regard.

Originally Posted by Vindicator
I think you're missing the point… Swen Vincke of Larian Studios flat out said that Ultima VII, which he considers the best RPG in the last 20+ years, was the inspiration for Divinity.

On the other hand, Richard Garriott has made it clear that Shroud of the Avatar is a spiritual successor to Ultima Online, with a bone or two thrown to the single player crowd.

So, I guess it depends on what your definition of Ultima-like is.

Actually Richard Garriott flat out said that Ultima 4 and Ultima 7 were also inspirations for the game. He actually said he wanted to bring in the worlds he created and stories and add some of the multiplayer of ultima online. He flat out said this wasn't going to be a ultima online 2, and no he wasn't meaning by name.

The differance here is Richard Garriott made ultima 7…so I am confident on waiting to see. I didn't miss the "point" which was a backhanded way of saying the new darling of the watch is getting the nod here.

"Shroud of the Avatar is a Selective Multiplayer game, allowing players to choose how they want to play! Whether in Single-Player Offline mode or any of three online modes, the main quest line will provide greater than 40 hours of focused, story driven content."

So there will definetly going to be a single player (offline) component.

I am interested to see how the online element will contribute to the offline component (if there is any correlation between the two).

Originally Posted by rune_74
Actually Richard Garriott flat out said that Ultima 4 and Ultima 7 were also inspirations for the game.

OK, I think it’s fair to say that both UO and U7 inspired SotA. However, Ultima Online was also inspired by Ultima VII… and despite the similarities and my love of U7, I despised UO.

Richard has made some contradictory statements about SotA; It will be both offline and online. It will have single player quests and be playable solo, however you will see others make their mark on the world.

Richard previously said that SotA is a small scale MMO; “tens of people” rather than tens of thousands. Yet, in the latest video he talks about everyone sharing the same world. This is a big change from UO, and was made to allow friends from all over the world to interact in one New Britannia.

Offline or not, the story IS multiplayer based; that is, the world of New Britannia has a multitude of alien visitors arriving through lunar rifts, and this will be integral to the storyline.

So, to sum things up, SotA is inspired by U7 and UO. The game will be playable offline but it will still feel like a MP game; Your avatar is not necessarily The Avatar… he is just one among many. Yes, we will have to wait and see which game ends up being more like a true Ultima… but as I've said, it just depends on what your definition of Ultima-like is.

Originally Posted by rune_74
I think you need to look a bit deeper into the game, it is both online and offline.

I believe I said that already.

Originally Posted by rune_74
It will feel like a single player game with the ability to add people into your experience if you should choose.

Ok, so exactly how will it feel like a single player game when it has a multiplayer storyline? Watch the above video… The player’s avatar is just one of many, and this invasion of immortals from another world is integral to the story. There has been no mention of a separate SP focused storyline. We can all hope for one, but I wouldn't hold my breath. The $2M raised will barely be enough for half of what's been promised, much less for a second storyline.

Originally Posted by rune_74
Ultima online was not inspired by ultima 7. That is just false.

You're right… I did some digging, and found that UO was not based on Ultima 7.
UO was originally pitched to EA as a multiplayer rpg based on the Ultima 6 engine and was called MUltima.

And I mean a proper one with cleaner visuals, an easier to read font (), higher resolution support, etc. Let's face it, the original has not aged well and it's the type of game that SHOULD be reintroduced to the "modern age".

Originally Posted by Dr. A
I think somebody should create a remake of Ultima 7.

We can all dream, but an official remake of Ultima 7 will never happen as long as EA holds the license. If one of us wins the lotto, we should buy the Ultima franchise from EA and gift it to Richard Garriott Larian Studios with the condition that they hire Warren Spector, who is recently out of a job.